Perspectives from the Edge

What does it take to move from AI experimentation to real-world adoption, and where does sovereign AI fit into the picture?

In Episode 2 of Season 2 of Perspectives from the Edge, Andrew Dutton,Enterprise Sales & Marketing Director at SCC, joins Pulsant’s Wendy Shearer to explore the challenges businesses are facing as AI moves from experimentation into production and scale.

As AI adoption continues to move at speed, businesses are having to think beyond the technology itself. Data foundations, workload placement, hybrid infrastructure, security, resilience and sovereignty are all becoming increasingly important.

In this episode, Andrew and Wendy explore:

• Why businesses are still working out what AI means for them

• The challenge of moving AI from experimentation and pilots into production and scale

• How data residency, data governance and data protection are shaping the conversation around sovereign AI

• Why hybrid infrastructure is becoming increasingly important

• Why AI is both a board-level opportunity and a board-level risk

• How businesses can assess their AI readiness and prepare for investment

• The infrastructure behind AI and the role of data centres

• Common misconceptions around data centres, energy use and sustainability

As AI moves into production, what do businesses need to get right to turn investment into meaningful business value?

Watch the full episode to hear Andrew and Wendy discuss the infrastructure, data and organisational considerations shaping the future of AI and sovereign AI.

Timestamps

00:11 Introductions

02:14 AI adoption and the enterprise challenge

03:31 Simplifying complexity and working back from business outcomes

04:23 AI adoption across industries

05:53 Hybrid by design and workload placement

07:29 Data, governance and the role of sovereignty

08:22 Are businesses AI-ready?

11:32 Preparing for AI investment

13:11 What's coming next in AI?

16:00 The infrastructure behind AI

16:33 AI as a board-level opportunity and risk

17:42 Sovereignty, resilience and protecting data

18:40 Data centre myth busting

20:31 Data centre efficiency and sustainability

22:28 Closing thoughts

#PerspectivesFromTheEdge #SovereignAI #AIInfrastructure #DataCentres #DataSovereignty #AI

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What does sovereign AI really mean when the hardware powering it is made somewhere else? And how is AI changing where data centres need to be built? 

In the first episode of Series 2 of Perspectives from the Edge, Rob Cooper, Head of Data Centre Advisory at CBRE, joins Pulsant’s Wendy Shearer to explore the rapidly changing AI infrastructure market. 

CBRE is a global real estate and infrastructure advisory firm, with a specialist team focused on the data centre sector. 

As demand for GPU infrastructure continues to grow, the market is shifting quickly. Demand is moving from the US into Europe; new data centre markets are emerging; and AI inference is creating a need for infrastructure closer to users. 

In this episode, Rob and Wendy explore: 

• Why AI infrastructure demand is shifting from the US into Europe 
• The rise of secondary data centre markets, including the Nordics and Iberia 
• Why AI inference is bringing compute closer to users 
• What “sovereign” really means when hardware is manufactured overseas 
• The growing demand for UK sovereign AI and data centre capacity 
• The challenges of power availability, energy costs and speed to market 
• How GPU-as-a-Service is changing the data centre landscape 
• How data centres are evolving to meet the demands of AI 
• Some of the biggest misconceptions around data centres, including power, water and their impact on communities. 

With AI infrastructure developing at pace, where will the next generation of data centres be built, and what will they need to look like? 

Watch the full episode to hear Rob’s perspective on the questions shaping the future of AI infrastructure, sovereign AI and data centres in the UK and Europe. 

#PerspectivesFromTheEdge #SovereignAI #AIInfrastructure #DataCentres #DataSovereignty #AI 

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Who really owns your data?  

Data sovereignty has become one of the defining issues shaping digital infrastructure, cloud strategy and AI adoption. But what does it actually mean, and why has it become a board-level discussion for so many organisations? 

In Episode 4 of Perspectives from the Edge, Pulsant's Wendy Shearer is joined by Steve Jewell, CEO of Nine23, to explore data sovereignty and its relationship to security, resilience and digital transformation. 

As organisations become increasingly reliant on cloud services, AI and interconnected digital ecosystems, understanding where data resides, who controls it and how it can be accessed is becoming critical. 

#PerspectivesFromTheEdge #DataSovereignty #CyberSecurity #ArtificialIntelligence #DigitalInfrastructure #CloudComputing #DataStrategy #Resilience #SovereignAI #HybridCloud 

In this episode, Wendy and Steve discuss: 

• The difference between data residency, security and data sovereignty 
• Why data sovereignty has evolved from a niche concern to a strategic business priority 
• How AI is creating new challenges around data governance and control 
• Why resilience is becoming as important as security 
• How organisations can take a pragmatic approach to sovereignty based on their specific requirements 

Whether you're responsible for technology, data, security, compliance or business strategy, this conversation offers practical insights for navigating an increasingly complex digital landscape. 

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Manchester is one of the UK’s leading tech ecosystems – but how did it get there?

In this episode, Pulsant’s Wendy Shearer speaks with Katie Gallagher from Manchester Digital about Manchester’s rise as a powerhouse for UK tech, data sovereignty, innovation, talent and inclusive growth.

Discover how the region has evolved from its strong industrial heritage into a thriving digital economy now home to major FTSE 100 companies and six unicorn businesses.

#PerspectivesFromTheEdge #ManchesterDigital #UKTech #DigitalInnovation #TechTalent #SocialMobility #DiversityInTech #RegionalGrowth #Pulsant #DataSovereignty

Over the past decade, Manchester has become a standout example of regional tech success in the UK.

In this conversation, Wendy and Kate explore:

• Why Manchester is seen as a leading UK tech ecosystem

• How the city has grown into a major digital economy

• The role of data sovereignty in building regional tech ecosystems and enabling secure, resilient digital growth

• How to nurture tech talent in an AI-first economy

• Why diversity and social mobility are essential to long-term growth

• What other UK regions can learn from Manchester’s success.

Whether you work in technology, policy, investment or digital transformation, this episode offers insight into what makes a successful and sustainable tech ecosystem.

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Data sovereignty isn't a solo effort. It's a symphony.

Data sovereignty is moving fast up the agenda. But who's orchestrating it?

The second episode of Perspectives from the Edge explores the subject through an analyst’s laser lens, in conversation with Kate Hanaghan, Chief Research Officer at TechMarketView.

Find out how AI and platform consolidation make data harder to control, how to bake sovereignty into your business from the start – and why the organisations getting it right treat ecosystems as a strategy, not just a procurement exercise.

The conversation, hosted by Wendy Shearer, considers what pragmatic sovereignty really looks like in practice, the hidden risks that creep in through partners and platforms, and how to start making smarter, workload-by-workload decisions without slowing the business down.

Why listen: To get expert insights on tackling sovereignty in the AI age and what to consider when building your strategy, contracts and partner relationships.

Data sovereignty isn’t a checkbox – it’s now a board-level priority.

Data sovereignty is everywhere right now, but for many organisations, it still feels abstract.

In this first episode of Perspectives from the Edge, Assad Noori, Head of Digital Infrastructure Advisory for the UK at KPMG, speaks with Pulsant's Wendy Shearer, about why sovereignty has become a board-levelissue, how AI and hybrid infrastructure are reshaping long-held assumptions, and why decisions about where data lives, moves, and is accessed now carry far wider implications than most organisations expect.

Together, they explore the tension between innovation and control, the risks of oversimplifying sovereignty, and what it really means to operate with confidence in an increasingly complex digital landscape.

Why listen: To hear how data sovereignty is really shaping decisions around cloud, AI, and risk, and what that means for organisations trying to move forward with confidence.

Perspectives from the Edge explores the realities of digital transformation as data, infrastructure, and interconnectivity become central to business performance.

Through conversations with industry experts, analysts, clients, and academics, the podcast looks beyond the hype to examine how data is stored, moved, and used inan increasingly distributed world. From cloud and AI to sovereignty, cost, and resilience, each episode aims to make complex topics more understandable and tospark informed discussion and debate.

Hosted by Pulsant, a regional data centre provider with 14 sites across the UK, the series brings a grounded, practical perspective on the challenges organisationsface as they work to harness data for long-term productivity, flexibility, and growth.

Why listen

Digital transformation is no longer just a technology challenge. It is a business one.

Perspectives from the Edge is for leaders who want clarity, not noise. Each episode brings informed perspectives from people working at the sharp edge of digital infrastructure, policy, and strategy. The focus is on real-world insight rather than fear-driven narratives, helping listeners better understand the decisionsshaping data strategy, cloud adoption, AI, and connectivity.

Whether you are navigating hybrid environments, questioning cloud dependency, or trying tobalance performance, cost, and control, this podcast offers thoughtful viewpoints to help you make sense of a rapidly changing landscape and challenge assumptions along the way.